Conscription in Russia (Russian:всеобщая воинская обязанность,romanized: vseobshchaya voinskaya obyazannost, translated as "universal military obligation" or "liability for military service") is a 12-month draft without pay, which is mandatory for all men who are between 18 and 30 years old, with a number of exceptions.[1] Avoiding the draft is a felony under Russian criminal code and is punishable by up to 26 months of imprisonment or a sizeable fine.[2][3] Women are excluded from mandatory military service in Russian army, but professionals like physicians are registered by military offices.
Employment of male citizens 18 to 30 years old is banned by the Labour Code of Russia unless military papers are provided to employer who is required by law to keep records of all male employers.[4] It is usually hard for draft-evaders to get employment and are routinely discriminated against despite attempts by Ministry of Labor to clarify that such discrimination is illegal.[5] This severe and prolonged discrimination resulted in outgrowingshadow economy in Russia.[citation needed]
In 2023 afterRussian invasion of Ukraine Putin's government made it harder to avoid mandatory unpaid military service and tightened legal responsibility.[6] Besides mandatory military service Russian government constantly tried to lure conscripts into signing military contracts which as of 2022 became indefinite.[6]
As of 2025 conscripts in Russia have indirectly supported the war effort in Ukraine by way of logistics and border service.[7] The conscription law practically presumes draft dodgers guilty unless they prove innocence per law.[a]
BeforePeter I, Russia formed the bulk of the military from the nobility and people who owned land on condition of service. During wars, additional recruiting of volunteers and ordinary citizens was common. Peter I introduced a regular army consisting of the nobility and recruits, including conscripts. The conscripts to theImperial Russian Army were called "recruits" in Russia (not to be confused with voluntaryrecruitment, which did not appear until the early 20th century).[8] The system was called "recruit obligation" (Russian:рекрутская повинность,romanized: rekrutskaya povinnost).
Russian tsars before Peter maintained professional hereditary musketeer corps (streltsy in Russian) that were highly unreliable and undisciplined. In times of war, Russia augmented the armed forces withfeudal cavalry andpeasant levies. Peter I formed theImperial Russian Army built on theGerman model, but with a new aspect: the Army did not necessarily draw officers from thenobility, giving talented commoners promotions that eventually included anoble title at the attainment of an officer's rank. Russia organised the conscription of peasants and townspeople on a quota system per settlement. Initially, it based conscription on the number of households in a given area. Later it was calculated on population numbers.[8] The conscriptedserfs dramatically increased the size of the Russian military during theNapoleonic Wars.[9]
The term of service in the 18th century was effectively for life, so long as an individual remained physically capable. In 1736 it was reduced to 25 years, with one male member of each family excluded from the obligation to serve in order to manage shared property. In 1834 the term was reduced to 20 years plus five years in the reserve, and in 1855 to 12 years plus three years of reserve liability.[8][chronology citation needed]
After the Russian defeat in theCrimean War during the reign ofAlexander II, the Minister of WarDmitry Milyutin introduced military reforms, with an initial draft presented in 1862. On 1 January 1874 , a statute concerning conscription was approved by the Tsar by which military service was generally made compulsory for males at the age of 21. The term of actual service was reduced for the land army to 6 years, followed by nine years in the reserve. This measure created a large pool of military reservists ready to be mobilized in the event of war while permitting the maintenance of a smaller active army during peacetime. Most naval conscripts had an obligation for seven years of service, reflecting the extended period required for technical training.
Immediately before the outbreak of World War I, the Imperial Government imposed compulsory service of three years for entrants to infantry and artillery regiments and four years for cavalry and engineers.[10] After completing this initial period of full-time service, conscripts passed into the first class reserves for seven years. The final obligation for compulsory service ended at age 43, after eight years in the second reserves.
The large population of Russia permitted exemptions from military service on a greater scale than in other European armies of the period. Muslims and members of certain other racial or religious minorities were generally exempted from conscription, as were about half of the Russian Orthodox population. The only sons in the family were normally not required to serve. Until 1903 theMilitary of the Grand Duchy of Finland was organised as a separate entity.
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The first all-union conscription law of 1925 was tailored for the mixed cadre-militia structure of the peacetimeRed Army after the Civil War. Draft-age was 21 years. Terms of service varied between one year in territorial formations and 2 to 4 years in the cadre army. Only "workers and peasants" were seen worthy to serve in combat units. Men of other social backgrounds were restricted to rear or labor services or had to pay a military tax.
The1936 Soviet Constitution declared military service a "sacred duty" of all Soviet citizens. The Constitution dropped any reservations regarding social or national background. A 1939 service law lowered the call-up age to 19. The Red army had adopted a full-cadre structure in the 1930s.
During theGreat Patriotic War, all non-disabled men of ages 18–51 were subject to draft except specialists declared vitally necessary in the domestic military/defense industry.
Soviet Armed Forces completed post-World War II demobilisation in 1948. A 1949 service law set service terms at three years in ground forces and four years in the navy.
The lateSoviet Armed Forces were manned by mandatory draft (with some exceptions) for all able-bodied males for 2 years (3 years for seagoing parts of theNavy andBorder troops), based on the 1967 Law on Universal Military Service.[citation needed] A bi-annual call-up in spring and autumn was introduced then, replacing the annual draft in fall. The conscripts were normally sent to serve far away from their residence.
Men were subject to draft at the age of 18. The draft could be postponed due to continued education. However, since the early 1980s Soviet Union had a mandatory draft for students of most colleges/universities[11] — the first mass student recruitment was in spring 1983, the maximum conscription fraction in 1987 — until it was abolished in the spring of 1989.[12] Students were drafted for two or, if for the navy, three years of military service typically after termination (more seldom in the middle) of the first or second year of college.
Most universities hadmilitary departments which were in charge of military training of all non-disabled male students to become reserveofficers of a particular military specialty depending on the university. At the moment of theDissolution of the Soviet Union, there were 397 civilian institutions ofhigher education which had military departments, in wholeUSSR.[13] There was the practice of the selectiveconscription of graduates of civilian institutions ofhigher education (universities, academies and, strictly speaking, institutions), who have graduated the military departments of their almae matres and received acommission as anofficer, in the Soviet Union. Such a person could be conscripted from the reserve of armed forces to active duty, but until the age of 27 only; the period ofactive duty of such an officer was several years, and at the end of that period, he was due to be enlisted in the reserve of armed forces again. Such officers were called "blazers" in army's slang (for example,Anatoly Kvashnin was a "blazer").[14]
The two-year conscription term in force in the USSR after 1967 continued in Russia following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union until 2006, when theGovernment of Russia andState Duma gradually reduced the term of service to 18 months for those conscripted in 2007 and to one year from 2008, while dropping some legal excuses for non-conscription from the law (such as non-conscription of rural doctors and teachers, of men who have a child younger than 3 years, etc.) from 1 January 2008.[15]
As of 2021, all male citizens aged 18–27 are subject to conscription for 1 year ofactive duty military service in thearmed forces, but the precise number of conscripts for each of the recruitment campaigns, which are usually held twice annually, is prescribed by particular Presidential Decree.[16]
Russian law provides some grounds for temporary postponement of and permanent exemption from military draft. For example, it is written into law that students in higher education obtain deferments.[17] People with very serious medical conditions are usually exempted from draft. Proving that such medical condition is present is costly process and requires significant time, medical analysis, and efforts, so not many people are exempted easily. The poor often can't afford such exemptions[citation needed].
The conscription of graduates of civilian institutions ofhigher education, who have graduated themilitary departments of their universities and received acommission as anofficer was abolished on 1 January 2008 when the amendments, contained in Federal Law of 6 July 2006, No.104-FZ,[18] entered into force.
In 2011 draft evasion was so rampant[19] the Putin government decided to discriminate against those who avoided mandatory military service by issuing unusual military papers for those who avoided it up to their age of 27 years old.[20]
Under Russian Labor Code any employment of potential male conscripts is not allowed (though it's not directly punishable, but males are systematically discriminated against) unless military papers are provided to the employer.[21][4][22] In order to obtain such military papers a conscript is required to serve in army for free. Additionally, the governmental decree requires companies to report any conscripts discovered to the authorities. This has been a long-standing effort to cripple human right to earn a living of draftees who dodge conscription, regardless of how just their reasons behind draft evasion are. Ministry of Labor of Russia tried to clarify that discrimination of employment based on lack of military papers is illegal.[5]
On 8 March 2022 presidentVladimir Putin promised that no conscripts would be used in theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[23]
In 2023 due to the growing number of draft evaders caused by beginning ofPutin's war in Ukraine in 2022 the Russian government responded with serious efforts to control mobility of male citizens who received mobilization summons via limitations imposed on various constitutional rights, such as right to move, sell property, or organize entrepreneurship.[24][25][26][27]
In April 2023, the RussianState Duma passed legislation to change the nature of conscription summons and how they are served. Previously a summons had to be physically served on the person being called up. Now a summons is deemed to be served once it appears on the government services portal called "Gosuslugi". Failure to obey such a summons could mean potential "bans on driving, registering a company, working as a self-employed individual, obtaining credit or loans, selling apartments, buying property or securing social benefits."[28]
In July 2023, the Russian State Duma passed legislation to raise the maximum age for military conscription to 30. The new legislation, which came into effect on 1 January 2024, required men to carry out at least a year of military service, or equivalent training during higher education, between the ages of 18–30, rather than 18–27. The law also bans men from leaving Russia from the day they are summoned to a conscription office.[29]
In August 2023, RussianPresidentVladimir Putin signed a law raising fines relating to conscription avoidance, after being approved by theState Duma and theFederation Council. Since 1 October 2023, the fine for failure to appear at the militaryenlistment office without a valid reason was raised from 500 to 3,000 rubles to 10,000–30,000 rubles. There were two additional offences: the fine for not reporting change of residence to the enlistment office is 20,000–30,000 rubles, and the fine for not reporting change of status (e.g. employment and marital status) is 1,000–5,000 rubles.[1]
Began in October 2023 the process of the creation of theUnified Military Register (Russian:Единый реестр воинского учета,romanized: Yediny reyestr voinskogo ucheta) also known asUnified Register of Military Personnel (Russian:Единый реестр военнообязанных,romanized: Yediny reyestr voyennoobyazannykh).[30] In November 2022, Putin signed a decree in which he instructed theMinistry of Digital Development and theFederal Taxation Service, with the participation of theMinistry of Defense, to form a state information resource for updating military registration documents by April 2024. The new system makes it possible to receive and enter information about those liable for military service online, and both military registration andenlistment office employees and citizens themselves will have access to it. In addition, employers will also be able to inform commissariats online about those liable for military service and update military registration information.[31] Information for the register will be taken from various government resources and systems, including the State Services portal. As a result, it will be possible to register online with the military registration andenlistment office. This is especially true for 16–17-year-old boys of pre-conscription age, who must submit information about themselves from 1 January to 31 March. When registering remotely, the person liable for military service will not need to attach a medical certificate, and will still need to undergo a medical examination and psychological examination in person.[30] The register includes among others personal data (full name, passport, address), health status, reasons for delay, sending and receiving subpoenas, appearance/failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office, restrictions imposed for failure to appear, complaints and appeals in connection with accounting, administrative and criminal liability for military registration.[32] Citizens will also have the opportunity to check the registry throughGosuslugi portal or on the website of the registry of electronic subpoenas.[32] The register of the call-ups will be synchronized with the register of persons liable for military service, but it will contain direct data about these official documents:[31]
In August 2024, Ukrainian forcescrossed the border intoKursk Oblast during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine resulting in part of the oblast becoming underUkrainian occupation.[33] Since the majority of the better-equipped Russian troops were deployed in Ukraine, most of the men guarding the border in the Kursk Oblast were young, inexperienced conscripts from theFSB Border Service,[34][35] who suffered heavy losses in combat with experienced Ukrainian troops.[36] Some of the conscripts stationed on the border with Ukraine were unarmed.[37] Although President Putin repeatedly promised that young conscripts would not be deployed in the war with Ukraine, conscripts from the FSB Border Service from several Russian regions were sent to fight with Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast.[36] Anonline petition launched by the mothers of the conscripts requesting for Putin to withdraw the conscripts from Kursk received more than 10,000 signatures.[38] On 29 August theInstitute for the Study of War reported that most of the Russianprisoners of war taken in Kursk by the Ukrainians were young conscripts.[39] There is an NGO calledGet Lost for Russians seeking to avoid conscription.[39] Per at least one conscript taken POW the main "goal is to complete their service, get that piece of paper" (i.e. that gives the right to work).[3]
On 1 April 2025, it was announced that 160,000 18-30-year-old men were planned to be issued with call-up notices for conscription, higher than the figures of 150,000 men in spring 2024, and 134,500 men in spring 2022. In 2024, Russia announced plans to increase the number of active servicemen to 1.5 million by 2026, an increase of about 180,000 over three years.[40][41]
On 22 July 2025, the State Duma introduced a bill for year-round conscription, which if approved by President Putin would come into effect on 1 January 2026.[42]
